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Strange Seed #3
The Children of the Island
Homecoming. Now once again, after so many centuries, they stood upon the island. Manhattan Island. The place which, before the buildings had been put up to cut the sky apart and before the subways sliced through the earth, had been the place of their birth. The place where they had first sprung up. People were going to learn ...
243 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
2 people are currently reading
200 people want to read
About the author
T.M. Wright
63 books64 followersTerrance Michael Wright (AKA T. M. Wright) is best known as a writer of horror fiction, speculative fiction, and poetry. He has written over 25 novels, novellas, and short stories over the last 40 years. His first novel, 1978's Strange Seed, was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, and his 2003 novel Cold House was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. His novels have been translated into many different languages around the world. His works have been reviewed by Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, and many genre magazines.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 22, 2019
Children with a godless nature, children of a godless Nature. the children are born on an island, rising from mud. they are born ravenous. the children walk to another island, the island of New York. the children slide through walls, mimic voices, devour all those around them, die; the cycle starts anew. some children survive by forgetting, they become like little humans, and then like big ones, they survive by forgetting who they were, they mimic until they become like us. fake it 'til you make it, kids!
this third book in the creepy, quiet series has Wright in a generous mood: we learn quite a bit about these little beings. and what I learned was fascinating! this sorta-sequel (the books are directly connected but feel like standalones) is a rare case of explaining more while still retaining mystery and ambiguity. I was just as creeped out as ever.
the book is episodic, which means we get to see these wee monsters in a variety of settings among a host of humans who may or may not be former Children. unfortunately, Wright's ability with characterization suffers here, with a gallery of mainly unpleasant and unmemorable characters. except for the leader of the Children, creepy quiet Seth, all grown up and ready to lead the kids on a fun trip to a place where food is plentiful. NYC is like a big buffet to these tykes. and except for a non-Children child - a sweet and careful lil' burglar - who finds himself trapped in a tenement filled with seniors, a gang, and some hungry Children come to visit. perhaps Wright just liked writing about children and Children more than he enjoyed writing about predictable (but delicious) adults.
this third book in the creepy, quiet series has Wright in a generous mood: we learn quite a bit about these little beings. and what I learned was fascinating! this sorta-sequel (the books are directly connected but feel like standalones) is a rare case of explaining more while still retaining mystery and ambiguity. I was just as creeped out as ever.
the book is episodic, which means we get to see these wee monsters in a variety of settings among a host of humans who may or may not be former Children. unfortunately, Wright's ability with characterization suffers here, with a gallery of mainly unpleasant and unmemorable characters. except for the leader of the Children, creepy quiet Seth, all grown up and ready to lead the kids on a fun trip to a place where food is plentiful. NYC is like a big buffet to these tykes. and except for a non-Children child - a sweet and careful lil' burglar - who finds himself trapped in a tenement filled with seniors, a gang, and some hungry Children come to visit. perhaps Wright just liked writing about children and Children more than he enjoyed writing about predictable (but delicious) adults.
February 5, 2014
Third installment in Wright's series that started with Strange Seed is just as good as its predecessors. While the first two books took place in fairly remote locations, this time Wright sets the story in a much larger playing or really as the case here killing field of Manhattan. The Children are back, the relentless lethal forces of nature that they are and their leader, Seth, hopes to trigger the dormant memories of those of them who became adults, to reawaken the wildness within. Could be read as a metaphor for city dwellers abandonment of nature ways or as is, as an entertaining story. Though whichever way, these books should optimally be read in order. Wright's writing is excellent as always, quiet horror at its finest, enhanced by speedy pacing, superb characterizations and haunting atmosphere. Very quick read. Recommended.
April 2, 2023
In CHILDREN OF THE ISLAND, T.M. Wright delivers one of his most gory and entertaining tales, but also least frightening. The eerie sense of dread and unpredictable domestic menace that he normally cultivates, so memorably in CARLISLE STREET or the home invasion scenes of NURSERY TALE, here are replaced by a wild tale of urban entropy and chaos. There are dozens of characters we follow all over central New York state from August to October of 1997 (not specified, we are told it has been 15 years since the events of 1982's NURSERY TALE, which was set 15 years after STRANGE SEED). Here, a group of humanoid creatures hatch from the ground about 60 miles outside the city and messily chomp their way to the Bronx. Meanwhile we follow a decrepit apartment building for elderly and disabled that gets violently taken over by a small, vicious gang:
"
"We're gonna make her sign her checks over. Like all the rest are gonna do."
"Oh," murmured the sixteen-year-old dimly. "Yeah."
"And maybe we'll have some fun with her too."
The sixteen-year-old grinned expectantly. "Are we gonna throw her down the elevator shaft, like we done with the super?"
...
"Sure," Snipe answered finally. "Why not? We'll throw 'em all down the elevator shaft after a while. How's that sound?"
"
It sounds bonkers, because it is! We also learn more about the creatures and their creepy, energizing empathy. They see emotions as an aura or tinted mist surrounding their human prey, which they experience physicially:
"
For his kind, it was a process similar to digestion, or respiration. It happened. And controlling it was nearly impossible.
"
As the creatures draw near to the city, their growing wake of carnage awakens a primal urge to violence in the "city-dwellers". In addition to the gang at the apartment building, we glimpse acts of violence breaking out, as trigger-happy citizens start packing firepower and letting loose at the slightest provocation. Police are portrayed as impulsive, accident-prone, and abusive, so they only contribute to the chaos. Citizens also start reckoning with death. Many scenes in the book concern how death "looks":
"I didn't know that people could die with their mouths and eyes open" one character tells his child. He is explaining "Cowboys and Indians". He says it does not matter which one he was playing, because they are both the same. At the conclusion, another character sees his friend and realizes she is dead: "Her body flowed away from him; her lips parted, her eyes rolled." We are reminded of the description from the children's game. Even though the parent said the roles don't matter, we see the stakes are very high.
After the colossal climax of NURSERY TALE and this book's volatile buildup, the conclusion felt a bit muddled. Most characters wind up in Bellevue hospital, some of them struggling to get out or even to understand why they are there at all. Some characters we have been following turn out to be creatures that stopped gobbling up humans and adapted to life as "city-dwellers". But overall nothing works out well for anyone, including the 'children'. They are not prepared for all the asphalt and filth they encounter in the city! The leader realizes their kind didn't actually lose the island, so much as they adapted to it. They had been there all along, and the violent intrusion upset their own 'city-dweller' kind which started the deadly chain reaction. (Lucky for NYC this time the cold snap just kills off the creatures, before they had a chance to burn the whole place down like their firebug ancestors in NURSERY TALE and STRANGE SEED.) Meanwhile their leader, who was raised as a human introduced in NURSERY TALE before going on to eat his grandparents, reassumes his human identity. If you can't eat them, join them? He takes a job at a massage parlor!
"Peter Minuet purchased the island from the Manhattan Indians in 1624, for twenty-eight dollars worth of trinkets."
As this quote from the interlude introducing "Part Two:Assault on Manhattan" suggests, we have to consider the difficult but obvious question of reading this as sort of allegory for Manhattan's Native American history. Sadly I am not familiar with this history, but little G tells me it concerns the Lenape tribe and their Manahatta island. (I also haven't read Whitley Strieber's THE WOLFEN or seen the film adaptation, but I gather it touches on similar territory.) I don't think it is fair to read these carnivorous creatures, emerging from the ground like invading ants, as an exploitative, dehumanizing depiction of Native American rage. I can see how some readers might see that, but the book points apologetically to the actual history and to "Cowboys and Indians" lore too often (as noted above) to suggest a 'revenge of the savages' storyline. The book's greater message is that any abuse of power (by gangs, police, "Pioneers", Seth & Elena, the building super, spouses, or doctors) is a destabilizing force with violent repercussions over decades or centuries.
Finally, one reason this book is one of Wright's most entertaining: his writing is remarkably disciplined here. Only three or four dialogue scenes allow characters to endlessly repeat each other's names, and all the storylines get wrapped up (plus even a few left over from NURSERY TALE). Negatives include distractions like a character named after a star from tv's "Three's Company" (ok, but why???) and a tendency to slip into Vonnegut pastiche that I have never noticed in his writing before. Here's an example:
"
The thin man knocked the gun against the window. Once. "Open up, guy." He gave Jim a long and thorough once-over and saw what he supposed was a bulge in the pocket of Jim's jacket. "Hey guy, what you got in there?" Jim had nothing in the pocket. It bulged because the fabric had decided to bulge."
"
"We're gonna make her sign her checks over. Like all the rest are gonna do."
"Oh," murmured the sixteen-year-old dimly. "Yeah."
"And maybe we'll have some fun with her too."
The sixteen-year-old grinned expectantly. "Are we gonna throw her down the elevator shaft, like we done with the super?"
...
"Sure," Snipe answered finally. "Why not? We'll throw 'em all down the elevator shaft after a while. How's that sound?"
"
It sounds bonkers, because it is! We also learn more about the creatures and their creepy, energizing empathy. They see emotions as an aura or tinted mist surrounding their human prey, which they experience physicially:
"
For his kind, it was a process similar to digestion, or respiration. It happened. And controlling it was nearly impossible.
"
As the creatures draw near to the city, their growing wake of carnage awakens a primal urge to violence in the "city-dwellers". In addition to the gang at the apartment building, we glimpse acts of violence breaking out, as trigger-happy citizens start packing firepower and letting loose at the slightest provocation. Police are portrayed as impulsive, accident-prone, and abusive, so they only contribute to the chaos. Citizens also start reckoning with death. Many scenes in the book concern how death "looks":
"I didn't know that people could die with their mouths and eyes open" one character tells his child. He is explaining "Cowboys and Indians". He says it does not matter which one he was playing, because they are both the same. At the conclusion, another character sees his friend and realizes she is dead: "Her body flowed away from him; her lips parted, her eyes rolled." We are reminded of the description from the children's game. Even though the parent said the roles don't matter, we see the stakes are very high.
After the colossal climax of NURSERY TALE and this book's volatile buildup, the conclusion felt a bit muddled. Most characters wind up in Bellevue hospital, some of them struggling to get out or even to understand why they are there at all. Some characters we have been following turn out to be creatures that stopped gobbling up humans and adapted to life as "city-dwellers". But overall nothing works out well for anyone, including the 'children'. They are not prepared for all the asphalt and filth they encounter in the city! The leader realizes their kind didn't actually lose the island, so much as they adapted to it. They had been there all along, and the violent intrusion upset their own 'city-dweller' kind which started the deadly chain reaction. (Lucky for NYC this time the cold snap just kills off the creatures, before they had a chance to burn the whole place down like their firebug ancestors in NURSERY TALE and STRANGE SEED.) Meanwhile their leader, who was raised as a human introduced in NURSERY TALE before going on to eat his grandparents, reassumes his human identity. If you can't eat them, join them? He takes a job at a massage parlor!
"Peter Minuet purchased the island from the Manhattan Indians in 1624, for twenty-eight dollars worth of trinkets."
As this quote from the interlude introducing "Part Two:Assault on Manhattan" suggests, we have to consider the difficult but obvious question of reading this as sort of allegory for Manhattan's Native American history. Sadly I am not familiar with this history, but little G tells me it concerns the Lenape tribe and their Manahatta island. (I also haven't read Whitley Strieber's THE WOLFEN or seen the film adaptation, but I gather it touches on similar territory.) I don't think it is fair to read these carnivorous creatures, emerging from the ground like invading ants, as an exploitative, dehumanizing depiction of Native American rage. I can see how some readers might see that, but the book points apologetically to the actual history and to "Cowboys and Indians" lore too often (as noted above) to suggest a 'revenge of the savages' storyline. The book's greater message is that any abuse of power (by gangs, police, "Pioneers", Seth & Elena, the building super, spouses, or doctors) is a destabilizing force with violent repercussions over decades or centuries.
Finally, one reason this book is one of Wright's most entertaining: his writing is remarkably disciplined here. Only three or four dialogue scenes allow characters to endlessly repeat each other's names, and all the storylines get wrapped up (plus even a few left over from NURSERY TALE). Negatives include distractions like a character named after a star from tv's "Three's Company" (ok, but why???) and a tendency to slip into Vonnegut pastiche that I have never noticed in his writing before. Here's an example:
"
The thin man knocked the gun against the window. Once. "Open up, guy." He gave Jim a long and thorough once-over and saw what he supposed was a bulge in the pocket of Jim's jacket. "Hey guy, what you got in there?" Jim had nothing in the pocket. It bulged because the fabric had decided to bulge."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2020
This is the third book in Wright's Strange Seed series, and is another thoughtful and quiet book of philosophical horror. It's actually a bit more violent than the predecessors, but Wright's purpose was always to entertain and convey his message rather than gore fest display. There are quite a few shifting viewpoints, and it's a fast-paced thriller.
March 20, 2017
Surprisingly violent (for T. M. Wright, anyway) end to this wonderfully strange and surreal trilogy.
March 19, 2022
I so wish that T M Wright had called this book "Strange Seed Take Manhattan" as it appears everybody wants to, even The Muppets. Joking apart, The Children Of The Island is the best book in the series, hands down.
One of the Earth Folk, Seth (who we're introduced to in Nursery Tale), has a plan to take his brood back to the original spawning ground, which is unfortunate for the people in the metropolis it's become. One of the reasons I loved this novel was how Wright expands the Earth folk's territory. In book one, we are on a disused farm. In book two, we have moved into a housing development. And in book three, we're in the big bad city. More people equals more Good Eats.
But there's something special in the pages of this novel. Multiple stories twist and intertwine to create a beautiful and believable environment for the Earth Folk to invade. You have the tale of Jim Hart and his friends who stumble onto Seth and his brood and Jim's descent into madness. Then you have Winifred Haritson and the residents of The Stone, a dilapidated hotel, and their siege when the hotel is overrun by a gang of youths called The Ravens. Next is Georgie MacPhail, a twelve-year-old cat-burglar, who literally stumbles upon Winifred Haritson while looking for enough loot to help his mother feed the family. And we have down-and-out-and-homeless Whimsicle Fatman who staggers around the city and starts to notice some peculiar changes. And good-ol' John Marsh is still knocking around, and he is on the search for Seth. There's so much going on in this book that I dare you to be bored.
Wright, even finds pages to add the previous history, in the way of news articles, placed at the most strategic points of the story to get back under your skin. I said Nursery Tale gets under your skin, and you can feel the scratch on your bone. The Children Of The Island sink their teeth down to your marrow.
A good series keeps getting better. Have fun and enjoy.
Take Care, Stay Well, And Make Love Not War.
One of the Earth Folk, Seth (who we're introduced to in Nursery Tale), has a plan to take his brood back to the original spawning ground, which is unfortunate for the people in the metropolis it's become. One of the reasons I loved this novel was how Wright expands the Earth folk's territory. In book one, we are on a disused farm. In book two, we have moved into a housing development. And in book three, we're in the big bad city. More people equals more Good Eats.
But there's something special in the pages of this novel. Multiple stories twist and intertwine to create a beautiful and believable environment for the Earth Folk to invade. You have the tale of Jim Hart and his friends who stumble onto Seth and his brood and Jim's descent into madness. Then you have Winifred Haritson and the residents of The Stone, a dilapidated hotel, and their siege when the hotel is overrun by a gang of youths called The Ravens. Next is Georgie MacPhail, a twelve-year-old cat-burglar, who literally stumbles upon Winifred Haritson while looking for enough loot to help his mother feed the family. And we have down-and-out-and-homeless Whimsicle Fatman who staggers around the city and starts to notice some peculiar changes. And good-ol' John Marsh is still knocking around, and he is on the search for Seth. There's so much going on in this book that I dare you to be bored.
Wright, even finds pages to add the previous history, in the way of news articles, placed at the most strategic points of the story to get back under your skin. I said Nursery Tale gets under your skin, and you can feel the scratch on your bone. The Children Of The Island sink their teeth down to your marrow.
A good series keeps getting better. Have fun and enjoy.
Take Care, Stay Well, And Make Love Not War.
Want to read
August 28, 2011Stephen King recommended author: "T.M. Wright is a rare and blazing talent!"
February 6, 2016
Might have gotten another star if there weren't so many points of view for the characters!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews